Rusty-James is the number one tough guy among the junior high kids who hang out and shoot pool at Benny's. He's even proud of keeping up his reputation. Actually though, what he wants most of all is to be just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. Rusty-James isn't book-smart, he relies more on his fists than his brains. When he gets in over his head, the Motorcycle Boy has always been there to bail him out. The day Rusty-James' world comes apart, the Motorcycle boy isn't around to pick up the pieces. What now?
To begin with, I can tell that a younger person wrote this because of the way the sentences are formatted. It is not a bad thing is just feels like I am reading an 8th grader's creative writing assignment. The characters are not well rounded and flat but we do see everything in a first person point of view. The main character is not very perceptive so that could be why none of the characters have visible personalities. The plot was carried out in what felt like a week or two. The way time is written it was hard to tell when things occurred. The story itself was interesting and I enjoyed it. The other book she has written was considerably more rounded. This one just felt rushed.
As much as I criticized this book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. S.E. Hinton is a good author and I recommend 'The Outsiders' profusely. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed her other novels. The violence is not very graphic so children need not worry.